POPULATION
Presently, France is the third most populous country in Europe. The countries ahead of it are Russia and Germany. According to current estimates, the total population of France is 67.75 million.
The French population has been growing at a constant rate. In France, the increase in life expectancy is showing a decline. Also, young couples are having few children. So a decline in population growth rate in the coming years is expected. The migration flow that was contributing to the population count has been on a constant decline.
According to 2002 figures, the migration balance was 62,000 people.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the life expectancy was 47 for women and 43 for men respectively. Presently, the life expectancy at birth in France stands at 83 years for women and 75.5 for men. The disparity in life expectancy between men and women is the largest in Europe. It is about 7.5 years.
An interesting fact to note is that French women have the second highest life expectancy in the World. Japanese women have the highest life expectancy in the world. The average disparity in terms of life expectancy between men of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region and those of the Midi-Pyrenees region is that of 5 years.
Another interesting fact about the population of France is that the women of France bear the most children in the European Union. Statistics show that according to 2001 figures the average in France was (191 children/100 women ) and the European average was (147 children/100 women).
POPULATION OF FRANCE IN THE PAST
Entire Europe witnessed a strong population growth in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. The case was not so in France. Instead, France witnessed strong growth in the second half of the 20th century. The historical evolution of the population in France was quite unlike that of the Western World.
The growth of the population of France slowed down after 1974. The growth of the population of France reached an all-time low in the year 1990 when a meager 0.39 % annual growth was recorded. This was the phase when a decline in the population growth rate was recorded.
The 2004 French census presented surprising statistics. It stated that the population growth rose significantly after the 1999 census. The annual population growth in the year 1999 to 2003 was 0.58%. The growth rate increased to 0.68% in 2004 and this was the year when France witnessed the highest increase in its population since 1974.
In the year, 2003, the natural population growth of France (without immigration) contributed immensely to the natural population growth in Europe. The growth in European Union’s population was 216,000 inhabitants. The increase in the population of France was 211,000 alone. The growth in the remaining countries of the European Union was only 5,000.
The National Day of France